Wheel guide



E. E. WHITE Aug. 19, 1952 WHEEL GUIDE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Original Filed Jul :5, 194g INVENTOR. 7111; E W/u'fe ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 19 .1952

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ellis E. White, Beverly Hills, Calif., assignor to.

Multi-Deck Corporation of America, a-corpov rationof California Original application July 3; 1948, Serial No.

385689.: Divided and this application Decem her '21, 1-949, Serial-N0. 134,292

1 -7 l his invention relates to whe'elguides for guiding the wheels of a motor vehicle driven under its own power intoaparking stall or onto wheel trackways on which it is desired to move the vehicle.

This application is va division of my'copending application S. N. 38g6=89 filedJuly 3, 1 948. Insaid copending application -I have disclosed a multide'ck parking structure for motor vehicles,-said disclosure including the wheel guide herein described and claimed. Although the 'wheel guide oithe invention may be advantageouslyutilized in the parking structure disclosed in 'said copending application, it may also be used in-other places where a-motor vehicle being driven in a given direction is to .beturned on a shortradius int'o trackways at an angle to the said given direction of travel. Speaking generally, it"may, for example, be desirable to drive an automobile from a roadway or aisle onto trackways or into a parking stall at right angles to the roadway or "aisle. Wheel guides embodying the invention are admirably suited for this purpose when placed at the'entran'ce to the trackways or parking stall to provide means *whereby an automobile may beturned fromthe roadway into the trackway or 'stall on a shorter'r'adiusthan would otherwise be the case.

According to the invention a wheel guide is provided for directing the wheels of 'amotor'v'ehicle intolthe trackway, by'reducin'g lateral friction of wheel'alignment with the trackway while maintaining forward traction, and it comprises a bed plate onlwhich is mounted a set of rollers'on each side of a traction plate the centerline of which is aligned with the trackway on which the wheel is directed. The axes of each set of rollers converge inwardlyin a direction toward the trackway thus to provide a throat at the entrance to the trackway so that the wheel is guided onto the trackway in alignment with it.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention "will be-pointed out in the annexed claims, the "invention itself as to its objects and advantages and themanner-in which it may be carried out may 1 Fig. 3 is an; end view/ of the embodiment :shown 7 mime-+1; and 1. h, p

6 Claims. (01. 2ss4 Fig. '4 is a plan view showing one .manner'oi mounting "a pair of the wheel guides adjacent va motor'vehicle ramp, such as disclosed in my rsaid copending application S. N. 38,689, of whichthis" is a division.

Referringnow to the-drawings in which like reference characters 'denotezsimilarparts, the wheel guide 8 comprises *a convergingguide I00 for the U-shaped channel 33.:and a similar Iconvergingwheel guide Hll for the companion channe1'32. Th'echannels Hand-33 (seeFigA) are,

asshown, trackwaysfof a ramp ll ont'o which a motor vehicle is to be driven from a direction at right angles to the channels/ 32 andl33. Both of the guides, are alike and the one indicated at I00 will be described in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The bed plate lfl2 of the guide-carries an 'elevated' flange I 03 having a height substantially the same as the height bf-the si'd'e of its U-channel 33. Flange I04 "on the opposite side is' n'o't elevated as is flange-I03, I hese two flanges provide a wide entrance m5 and they converge to the same distance apart 'as the width of the U-channe'l 33 providing a throatt'o guide the wheel of a motor vehicle .into the u-chann'e'l- The top of flange -I 0'3'has-an elongate 'guard roller 106' mounted between 'fixed' rounded sections llf'l' and l 08 to avoid damage to "the'tireof the motor vehicle if it should strike these elements. On the bed plate N12 is arranged a triangular traction plate I 09, the center line'of which is in traction rollers I ll;Hiyand '3' having "stub' shafts like roller H0 wli'ichrotate'in'bearingsin pillow blocks l24and I25 like"thje"pillow blocks I22 and "I23 carried onbediplate T02, IA='similar arra'y of'cylindri'c'al traction rollers [T4, "H5, H5 is likewise arranged at the other side of traction plate I09. 'Th'eiroll'ers H l to lTBhave theiraxes inclinedin'the general-direction of :the ,pa'th' lea'ding into the channel --33 so that }a wheel riding on such rollers andapproaching the center line of the channel at can-angle: is guided-intqthe throat vof the-wheel {guide into alignment with: the channel The:rdllers..:arerearranged as? Center aeozsse to reduce the lateral friction of the wheel away from the flanges I03 and [04 while providing traction for the wheel in the direction of roller axes leading into the channel, such traction being increased by reason of the traction plate )9 which provides traction at the entrance to the guide when the wheel is substantially in alignment with the channel. It has been found by actual test that a cylindrical roller lengthwise or substantially lengthwise of its axis has suffici t traction for the purpose. The elevated. guard roller I06 has been illustrated only on flange 103 at the right of the wheel guide I66 on the assumption that a car would approach from the left, that is, the car would be traveling in the direction of the arrow as illustrated in Fig. 4. However, a flange similar to flange [03 with a guide roller may be used in place of a flange like flange IM if the car is to approach from the opposite direction or either direction; it being noted that in Fig. 4 the flange 'l03a"c0rresponding to flange N33 is on the left side of the guide lfil whereas flange [93 is on the right. g

As indicated, the wheel guides are advantageously used in pairs as illustrated in Fig. 4, one guide being provided for each of channels 32 and 33, and while the use of the guide has been described for illustrative purposes, as being connected to a ramp, it will be understood that wheel guides embodying the invention may be utilized advantageously in other places where it is desired to drive a car under its own power from a roadwayv or aisle into alignment with a confined trackway or stall at an angle from the roadway.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that when a car is being driven under its own power in a direction shown by the arrow 125 in Fig; 4 and it is desired to turn the canto the left to drive it onto the channels 32 and 33 of the ramp II, the car is steered so that the left front wheel'enters the wide mouth of guide Hi and the right front wheel enters the guide HH. By reason of the rollers, the axes of which extend in the same general direction as the channels, the wheels are guided into the throats of the guides adjacent the channels so that the and not "of limitation, and there is nointention in the use of such terms and expressions of ex-: eluding any equivalent of the features shown and described or'portions thereof, but'it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of invention claimed. What is claimed is; i l f 1. A guide for guiding. the wheels of a motor vehicle'dr'iven under its own power which come.

prises a bed plate, a substantially horizontal traction surface onsaid bed plate,a set of trac-' tion rollers oneach side of said traction surface on which the wheels of the vehicle may ride, each set of traction rollers converging in adirection toward the rear of said traction surface, and a guard member abovethe surface of sai'd'traction rollers and extending in the same direction" as f the new: one set of said traction rollers; i

Although the roll-l 2. A wheel guide for guiding the wheels of a motor vehicle when said vehicle is driven under its own power and steered from a given direction of travel to move it in a direction at an angle to said given direction which comprises a bed plate, a traction surface on said bed plate of generally triangular shape having its center line extending in a direction toward the rear of said bed plate, a first set of traction rollers on said bed plate mounted for rotation on one side of said center line and a second set of traction rollers 'on said bed plate mounted for rotation on the other side of said center line, the axes of rotation of said first and second sets of traction rollers converging in a direction toward the rear of said bed plate, and a guard member above the traction rollers and extending along one set of rollers outside their traction area and adapted to engage the side walls of the tires of the motor vehicle wheels.

3.A wheel guide for guiding the wheels of a motor vehicle when said vehicle is driven under its own power and steered from a given direction oftravel to move it in a direction at an angle to said given direction which comprises a bed plate, a traction. plate of generally triangular shape mounted on said bed plate with its center line extending in a direction toward the rear of said bed plate, a traction roller between the rear end of-said bed plate and said traction plate and having its axis of rotation in alignment with the center line of said traction plate, a first set of.

traction rollers mounted on said bed plate on one side of said traction plate, a second set of traction rollers mounted on said bed plate on the other side of said traction plate, said two sets of traction rollers having their axes of rotation converging in a direction bed plate. V

4. A guide for guiding the wheels of a motor vehicle which comprises a bed plate, a'traction toward the rear of said plate and therear of said bed plate, pillow-blocks on' said bed plate mounting said center roller for rotation about an axis in alignment with the.

center line of said traction plate, a first set of rotatable elongate traction rollers on one ide of said traction plate, pillow blocks on said bed.

plate mounting said first set of rollers for rotation, the axes of rotation of said first set of rollers converging toward said center line in a directiontoward-the rear of said'bed plate, a second .set" of'rotatable elongatetractionrollerson the other side of said. traction plate, and pillow blocks on said bed plate mounting said second setof rollersfor rotation, the axes of rotation ofisaid second set of rollers converging toward said center line in a direction toward the rear or said bed plate.

5. A guide for guiding the wheels of a motor vehicle which comprises a bed plate, a traction plate of generally triangular shape mountedon said bed plate with its center line extending to--' ward the rear of said bed plate, a rotatable elonable elongate traction rollers on one side of said traction plate, pillow blockson said bed plate mounting said first set'of rollers for rotation; the

axes of rotation of said first set of rollers con-" verging toward said center line in a direction toward the rear of said bed plate, a second set of rotatable elongate traction rollers on the other side of said traction plate, pillow blocks on said bed plate mounting said second set of rollers for rotation, the axes of rotation of said second set of rollers converging toward said center lin in a direction toward the rear of said bed plate, and a rotatable guard roller above and on the outside of said traction rollers and mounted for rotation on said bed plate about an axis substantially parallel with the axes of rotation of said first set of traction rollers.

6. A mechanism for guiding the Wheels of a motor vehicle into a pair of channels forming a trackway for the vehicle, which mechanism comprises a separate wheel guide for each of said channels, each Wheel guide comprising a bed plate, a horizontally dis osed traction plate of generally triangular shape on said bed plate, having a center line extending toward the rear of said bed plate, a center traction roller mounted between said traction plate and the rear of said bed plate and having its axis in alignment with said center line, a set of elongate traction rollers mounted on said bed plate on each side of said traction plate, the axes of rotation of each set of traction rollers converging toward said center line in the direction toward the rear of said bed plate, a guard roller mounted on said bed plate for rotation above and outside the area of said traction rollers and having its axis of rotation substantially parallel with the axes of rotation of one of said sets of traction rollers,the center line of one of said pair of guides aligning with the center line of one of said pair of channels and the center line of the other of said guides aligning with the center line of the other of said channels,

ELLIS E. WHITE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,551,556 Gust Sept. 1, 1925 2,085,329 Porte June 29, 1927 

